Never Leaving You Again
by Wolfinmyheart
Summary: Blaine has transferred to McKinley together with Kurt, but despite the Bullywhips, the school's not as safe as they'd thought.
1. Chapter 1

"Are you sure you don't want us to-" Santana started, but Kurt cut her off immediately.

"I just have to go to the toilet, Santana. Go seek Blaine. I'm sure he's having more trouble getting started on McKinley than me getting to a restroom." He said in his slightly snappy way.

Santana irritably flicked her hair back over her shoulder and adjusted her 'Bullywhippers' hat. "Fine." she said. "So where's that pretty boyfriend of yours currently hiding?"

Kurt slammed his locker shut. "He doesn't hide!" he snapped. "He had Maths. He always does before Glee club." He hoisted the handle of his bag over his shoulder and strode off to the toilets without saying anything else.

Right at the moment he closed the door of the toilets behind him, he was grabbed by the collar of his Marc Jacobs shirt and dragged into one of the stalls.

Panicked, Kurt clutched the big, black hand - 'Azimio', Kurt thought - to try and pry the fingers off him. In the process, he felt his bag slide off his shoulder and drop onto the ground. Kurt couldn't help but make a face when he thought of the fact that his expensive bag just landed onto one of the most filthy floors of the school ground.

"Let go of me!" Kurt brought out, still trying to free himself out of the football player's grip. "Someone will come in and find you any moment now! Let go! At least let me pick up my bag!"

Azimio laughed and pushed Kurt into the stall, forcing him on his knees by squeezing him hard in the back of his neck and barking: "Down on your fucking knees!"

Kurt protested loudly while getting down on his knees and turned half-around. "Now what?" he spat. "Are you going to lock me up here? Come on, even someone with as tiny as a brain as you have can come up with something better."

Maybe he shouldn't have said that.

The problem was that whenever Kurt figured that he shouldn't have said something, he always already had said that exact thing. And it usually got him into either a fight with Rachel or in trouble.

Azimio snarled wordlessly and punched Kurt in the face, causing the smaller boy to tumble against the toilet, covering his left eye with his hand.

As if it wasn't enough already, Kurt felt Azimio's large hand grab his hair from behind and forcing him to face the toilet.

It was right then when it hit Kurt.

He was going to drown him.

Azimio was going to drown him in a school toilet.

Panic hit Kurt full force, and he started to struggle again. "No! Don't!" Why hadn't anyone came in yet?

"Say goodbye to your fucking faggy life, you filthy queer! I'm done with you! I can't stand you anymore!" Azimio spat. It was the first thing he'd said to Kurt since they'd started the struggle, and Kurt nearly broke out in tears when he realized that if no-one showed up right now, they would probably be the last ones he'd ever hear.

"Help!" he cried out. "Help me!"

He felt the pressure on his head as he was being pushed face-first towards the water in the toilet.

Kurt started to sob, still trying to trash his way out. "Please... You don't need to do this, I can transfer!" he pleaded. When Azimio didn't answer, but kept pushing, he started to scream.

"Help me! Help! In here! In here! Help-" Kurt's voice broke.

His face was only inches away from the water, and he closed his eyes tightly, causing a couple of tears to fall and bring a soft ripple on the surface beneath him. "Blaine... I'm so sorry..." he whispered, before his head was pushed underwater and Azimio flushed the toilet.

Once... Twice... Thrice...

Everytime he tried to get up he was pushed back down. Everytime he tried to draw in a breath his lungs protested against the cold water flooding them.

Stars danced in front of Kurt's eyes. He couldn't breathe, he couldn't call for help, he couldn't feel anything anymore. He could only shiver while his body didn't obey his will anymore, simply because there wasn't enough oxygen left.

Kurt became dizzy. He felt like throwing up. Maybe he did, he had no idea. All he could hear was the blood rushing in his ears. The sudden absence of his heartbeat. He panicked before his body went limp and he felt himself slip away, towards some sort of light, which looked like the reflection of the moon in a lake. Shimmery... White...

"Hey, Santana, ready for Glee club?" Blaine greeted the Spanish girl, flashing her a smile. He then saw her expression. "Why the cross look?"

Santana arched an unamused eyebrow at him. "Kurt said we should stick around you instead of him."

Blaine glanced at her while they walked away from the classroom and towards the lockers. "Did he give you a reason?" he asked.

Santana smirked. "He said, and I quote: 'I'm sure he's having more trouble getting started on McKinley than me getting to a restroom.'." she said smugly, causing Blaine to roll his eyes exasperatedly and answer: "You do realize that I'm gay, right? You breaking me and Kurt up won't have any benefits for you in it."

Santana grinned. "Not even comfort sex?" she asked with a slight purr.

Blaine was about to come up with a smooth answer about her own sexual preference, when Santana's walkie-talkie suddenly came to life.

"I think we've got a situation." Karofsky's voice came trough the receiving end.

Santana frowned and brought the walkie-talkie up to her mouth. "Where and how?" she demanded.

The small machine creaked slightly before Karofsky's voice came trough again. "Ground floor, the boy's toilet by the lockers. I saw Azimio storm out of them. I'm going to take a look."

Blaine noticed the sudden tenseness in Santana's shoulders. "What's wrong?" he asked, the hairs in his neck standing upright. He had a bad feeling that it had something to do with Kurt.

Santana started to walk quicker, towards the stairs, heading for the lockers.

In his hurry to follow her and keep up with her, Blaine nearly stumbled over his own feet. Cursing, he raced after her.

Santana's walkie-talkie creaked again, and she answered it. "What's up?" she asked.

They were running now, having reached the first lockers. It would take them two more hallways for them to reach the boy's toilets.

"He got Kurt." Karofsky said trough the walkie-talkie. "Call a teacher or something - this is bad shit."

"Take care of Kurt, I'll go get a teacher." Santana nodded. "Blaine, we- Blaine? Blaine!"

At the moment Kurt's name had dropped, Blaine had started running as fast as he could, pushing others out of his way carelessly. He had to get to Kurt. He had to get to his boyfriend.

He skidded to a stop in front of the toilets and stormed in.

When he saw Karofsky sitting on his knees next to Kurt, slapping the boy's cheeks, his heart skipped a beat. He quickly moved over and got to his knees as well. "What happened?" he brought out, eyes travelling over Kurt's drenched torso. He grimaced when he saw the black eye.

"Azimio probably stuck his head in the toilet or something..." Karofsky replied. His face was red and the veins in his neck were standing out. "Damn, he won't wake up!" he snapped.

Blaine pushed Karofsky's hands aside and lay his fingers on Kurt's neck. "Shit..." he breathed. "Move over! He doesn't have a pulse! Dammit, he's not even breathing! Count for me!"

Frantically, Blaine pushed Karofsky out of the way and started to push on his boyfriend's chest with both hands. "Come on, Kurt..." he growled trough clenched teeth, while he felt his eyes tear up. He shook his head. "You can't do this, Kurt, you can't just leave..." he snapped.

"How long are you supposed to do that before giving mouth to mouth?" Karofsky asked.

"Thirty." Blaine answered, still pushing his hands on Kurt's chest. "Shit, Kurt, wake up..." he whispered.

"Twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty!" Karofsky exclaimed. Blaine immediately reacted by moving over to Kurt's head and tipping it slightly. He squeezed Kurt's nose and placed his lips over his boyfriend's cold ones. He blew air into the boy's lungs once, twice, then went back to try and get his heart to work again.

"What happened - oh no... Emma, get the kids to their classes, tell them there's nothing of their business here."

Blaine didn't need to look up to know that Santana had returned bringing Mr. Shuester and Miss Pillsbury with her.

Tears were running over his face by the time Karofsky cried out "Thirty!" again. When he moved over to do the mouth to mouth again, he saw that Mr. Shuester kneeled next to Kurt's chest. "You keep doing that, I'll focus on getting his heart working again." he said to Blaine.

As Blaine waited for Mr. Shuester to reach thirty pushes, he stroked Kurt's wet hair out of his pale face.

"Thirty!"

Two breaths.

Shuester started working Kurt's chest again, and Blaine became scared. Hadn't it been too long already? What if they just came too late? What if-

"Thirty!"

Don't think, just give him oxygen...

By this time, Miss Pillsbury had entered the toilet and watched the scene in front of her with her big deer-like eyes and Shuester had already pushed on Kurt's chest five times again.

Suddenly, a choking sound fought it's way out of Kurt's throat along with a small gulp of water. Shuester looked up and Blaine immediately lay his fingers on Kurt's neck. "I can feel his pulse." he said, relief exploding in his chest.

"Turn him over, or he'll choke again." Pillsbury quickly said.

As Karofsky moved out of the way, Blaine and Shuester turned Kurt on his side, so he was facing their way. Shuester quickly stepped over him, sitting behind him to steady him. Blaine didn't bother to move. He needed to be sure that Kurt was alive.

Kurt made the choking sound again and this time, more water gulped out, seemingly mixed with bile, pooling around Blaine's knees and soaking his trousers. Kurt's body started to shiver and convulse as he coughed and retched.

"Shhh..." Blaine whispered with a trembling voice, stroking Kurt's hair back again. "Shhh, it's okay... You're okay..."

"You're okay..."

The voice seemed to come from a distance, but Kurt easily recognized it easily as Blaine's. He tried to tell him to keep his hands the hell away from his hair when he realized that he was soaked.

What the hell...?

He tried to speak again, but all he could do was retch as water gulped out of his mouth. His eyes flew open and he dazedly stared at his boyfriend's knees on the tiled floor of... the boy's toilet? Why was he lying on the floor there? And why was he wet?

And why was Blaine still touching his hair?

A large hand suddenly patted his back forcefully, causing Kurt to cough more and harder. He wondered if the flow of water coming out of him would ever stop.

"He needs to cough it all out."

Was that... Mr. Shuester? Something really had to be going on then.

"Will he be fine?"

Oh, Blaine sounded so adorable when he was scared.

Kurt suddenly figured that he needed to breathe in and his eyes widened when he found it difficult to do so, as pain seared trough his chest whenever he tried to inhale air. His hand shot out and clutched Blaine's pullover, a panicky noise escaping from his lips.

"What's wrong?" Blaine carefully leaned over to look into his eyes. "Hey..."

Kurt noticed that Blaine was white as a sheet, and his eyes were still wide with shock. Nonetheless he smiled with relief.

"Air-" Kurt brought out, some more water escaping from his lungs. "Breathe in hurts..."

Blaine quickly looked up at Mr. Shue, but it was Miss Pillsbury who came to the rescue.

"Kurt, you really should take a deep breath now." she said, crouching in front of him. "It may hurt, because some people break or crack their sternum when heart massage is preformed on them, but you really have to take a deep breath now."

Kurt's lips trembled as he twisted Blaine's pullover in his grasp and took a deep breath.

Pain exploded in his chest, causing him to let out a harsh gasp. He could feel Blaine's hands on his face, cupping his cheeks and softly stroking his thumbs over his skin.

Kurt, still gasping, looked up at his boyfriend with wide eyes and a frightened expression on his face. "Blaine-" he croaked. "I'm so sorry..."

"Shhh..." Blaine whispered again. "It's okay. An ambulance is on the way."

"So sorry..." Kurt continued to gasp, until Blaine frowned and pressed a finger against his lips.

"I told you." The dark-eyed boy said. "It's alright. Everything's gonna be fine." Kurt tried to nod, but his head was just so heavy. He noticed that he was trembling. "So tired..." he muttered, closing his eyes slowly. He felt Blaine's hand softly tap on his cheek. "Hey, don't fall asleep now. We have to wait for the ambulance, okay? They'll need to talk to you." Blaine said.

Kurt groaned in half-hearted exasperation. Nonetheless he opened his eyes again. "I want you to come with me..." he murmured.

"I'm not sure if the paramedics allow a minor to come with you, Kurt." Mr. Shuester spoke up. "Is it okay with you if either Miss Pillsbury or I ride along?"

Kurt looked displeased, but nodded slowly. "Okay." he said in a tiny voice, causing Blaine to smile slightly. Kurt turned his head slightly so he was pressing his face into the palm of his boyfriend's hand.

Trying to feel safe.

Fifteen minutes later, Blaine found himself sitting in between Mercedes and Finn, staring into space while Miss Pillsbury informed the group about Kurt's situation. The Glee members were all dead-silent, besides from Brittany's: "Maybe he lost his wallet in the toilet and he made Kurt look for it. But I don't understand why."

Very slowly, Miss Pillsbury's voice started to get trough the pieces of cotton that seemed to have replace Blaine's brain. "...Blaine and Mr. Shuester were able to resuscitate Kurt. He was brought to the ER by ambulance."

"Is he okay now?" Mercedes asked quietly, not even bothering to put up her hand.

When Miss Pillsbury didn't answer immediately, Blaine looked up. He saw her shuffling her feet nervously, locking her hands together in front of her green jumper. At last she spoke up. "Because Kurt inhaled so much water, some of it came in his bloodstream..." she said softly, causing Blaine to shiver slightly. "It cooled his heart down. When they came into the ER he had another cardiac arrest."

Blaine couldn't stand it anymore. He jumped up while a strangled sound fought it's way out of his throat. He looked around, realizing that he looked stupid, just standing there. He met Pillsbury's eyes. "It's not fair." he said weakly.

"Blaine, I understand that this is hard on you, but there's nothing you can do right now. Sit down." Miss Pillsbury softly said.

Blaine's legs trembled, and he slowly sat down again. Finn placed his broad hand on his shoulder, squeezing it lightly.

"Miss Pillsbury, can we sing a song dedicated to Kurt?" Rachel asked, after a glance at Blaine. "I'd... feel useless otherwise."

Miss Pillsbury nodded. "Of course, Rachel, go ahead." she answered, at which Rachel quickly moved over to Tina and whispered something in her ear, and then to Finn and Puck to whisper the same to them.

The three teenagers nodded and stood. Tina walked over to sit behind the piano while Finn sat behind the drums and Puck grabbed a guitar. Rachel went to stand over by the microphone and looked at Tina, nodding. The Asian girl smiled kindly at Blaine before starting to play.

Rachel closed her eyes and started to sing. "Didn't they always say... we were the lucky ones? I guess that we were once... oh baby we were once..."

Blaine closed his eyes, trying to fight the tears. He could feel the looks of his friends burn holes in his body, but he didn't want to see them right now. All he wanted to see was Kurt.

But luck will leave you 'cause it is a faithless friend... And in the end, when life has got you down... You've got someone here that you can wrap your arms around...

Opening his eyes, Blaine stood and walked upon the microphone next to Rachel's. He grabbed it, glanced at Rachel and sang along with her.

Hold on... to me tight... Hold on, to me tonight... We are stronger here together, than we could ever be alone... So hold on to me... Don't you ever let me go...

Blaine closed his eyes briefly, remembering him and Kurt last week, laying on Kurt's bed, simply enjoying each other's company, playing with each other's hand, stealing a kiss every now and then.

There's a thousand ways, for things to fall apart... But it's no one's fault... No, it's not my fault...

Blaine felt his throat squeezing shut when he remembered the next upcoming lines, but Rachel quickly took over, like they'd done it a hundred times before already.

And maybe all the plans we made may not work out... But I have no doubt, even though it's hard to see... I've got faith in us, yes I believe in you and me...

Blaine felt hot tears drip over his cheeks as he looked at the ceiling, singing again. How many times had Kurt stood here, belting out the climax of a Broadway song and causing some people to tear up simply by showing the passion he sang with?

So hold on, to me tight... Hold on, I promise it'll be alright... 'Cause it's you and me together, and baby all we've got is time... So hold on to me, hold on to me, tonight...

Right in the middle of the song's bridge, which Rachel did most of - Blaine couldn't bring it up - Miss Pillsbury's cellphone rang. She looked at the number and answered it, quickly walking to the hallway.

There's so many dreams that we have given up... Take a look, at all we've got...And with this kind of love, with what we've got here, it's enough...

Miss Pillsbury came back after less than ten seconds, on her face an unreadable look. For a moment, the music stopped, and everyone seemed to be holding their breath.

A smile broke trough on her face. "Kurt will be fine." she said. "He'll make it."

There was a deafening silence, before the classroom seemed to explode. While Mercedes and Artie hugged, Sam and Quinn jumped up and cheered loudly, Blaine's heart felt like it was swelling five times it's size.

Kurt was fine.

He would make it.

Finn, Puck, Tina and the rest of their small orchestra started to play perfectly in time, while Blaine forcefully grabbed the microphone's standard and belted out the rest of the song.

So hold on, to me tight... Hold on, oooh I promise it'll be alright... 'Cause we are stronger here together, than we could ever be alone... Just hold on to me, don't you ever let me go... Yes hold on to me, it's gonna be alright... Hold on to me... Tonight...


	2. Chapter 2

"Mercedes wants to visit soon." Blaine told his boyfriend, idly playing with his fingers. He sighed when the only reaction he got was the steady beeping of the monitors and the whirring of the machines next to Kurt's hospital bed.

"Well, the fracture of his sternum is quite neat, so it should heal quickly without any help." The doctor had said, when Blaine had asked him how his boyfriend was doing. Blaine had nodded quickly. "And for the rest? To be honest, I'm more concerned about the fact that his heart stopped than that his sternum is cracked." he had said, at which the doctor had flipped open Kurt's chart and summed up the condition and current treatment of the patient.

It basically meant that the machine on the right side of Kurt's bed was meant to filter the extra water out of his bloodstream, along with the 'exploded red blood cells' or something.

And that Kurt was in a coma.

Blaine involuntarily squeezed Kurt's limp hand when he thought of the cause of all this. If he ever saw Azimio again, he would kill him personally. See how he would like to have his head stuck into a toilet and be drowned that way.

Blaine sighed and stroked the back of his friend's hand. "I miss you, Kurt. We all miss you at school. Glee club isn't the same without you around. Rachel's clothes are already starting to head to 'downright idiotic' again, without your fashion tips." He smiled to himself. "And Mercedes refuses to put on any makeup as long as you're not back. So hurry. Get better."

He just leaned over to press a soft kiss to Kurt's forehead when someone in the door opening cleared his throat. Blaine looked over and saw Burt Hummel standing there, arms crossed in front of his chest.

Blaine stood up from the edge of the bed and smiled. "Hi, Mr. Hummel." he said politely, while Burt simply nodded back and said: "You can say Burt. That mister stuff gives me the creeps."

Blaine smiled. "Alright, I'll try to remember." he said. He looked back at Kurt for a moment before meeting Burt's eyes again.

"I want to thank you." he said, causing Burt to look confused.

"Why would you do that?" he asked. "You're the one who saved my son's life. Along with that teacher, but still..."

"I want to thank you for... taking my advice, by lack of better terms." Blaine said, shaking his head. "You know, giving Kurt 'the talk' and all that. And for not hating him for what he is, or finding him a stranger because of it."

"The only thing Kurt is, is my boy." Burt said, a frown on his face. "The fact that he's homosexual doesn't define who he is..." he paused. "Well alright, it does define a lot of him, but you know what I mean." he then decided.

Blaine grinned. "I know what you mean." he assured Burt. "I didn't mean it like that, though. All I wanted to say is that you're a good father. Kurt's really lucky to have you." With that, Blaine started to move towards the door, sensing that Burt wanted some time alone with his son.

By the time Blaine had already set one foot out of the room, Burt said: "Hey, Blaine, how come you didn't say goodbye?"

Blaine turned around, looking slightly surprised. Burt grinned. "I'm not a homophobe, in case you hadn't noticed before." he said, stepping aside so that Blaine could stand by Kurt's bedside.

Blaine flushed slightly, suddenly not so dapper anymore. He slowly moved back to Kurt's bed and took his boyfriend's hand in his again. He looked at Kurt's pale face for a moment, realizing that his skin really did look like porcelain, before leaning over and softly kissing him on the lips. "I love you, Kurt." he whispered, breath ghosting over Kurt's still features. He straightened again, squeezing Kurt's hand softly before letting go again. He swallowed thickly and rubbed his face, willing the moisture in his eyes away. He shook his head, trying to smile because he knew Burt was looking at him. God, he felt like an idiot.

"Hey." Burt said softly, placing a hand on Blaine's shoulder. "Don't be ashamed to cry."

Blaine turned around, facing Burt. "Sorry." he said with a choked voice. "I just- I can't stand this... this waiting..." His voice cracked and he quickly looked down, squeezing his eyes shut. He really didn't want to lose it in front of Kurt's dad, because, well... it was Kurt's dad.

Burt softly squeezed his shoulder. "It's alright." he said. "I guess we all feel the same here."

Blaine looked up and saw that Burt's eyes were wet, too. He nodded. "I guess." he said. He cast a look at his boyfriend again before clearing his throat and rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand. "Right." he said, trying to keep his composure together. "I'd better go."

Burt nodded. "We'll give you a call when anything changes." he promised. Blaine nodded and, after one last look at Kurt, he left the room.

During the days that followed, Blaine's results at school started to get worse dramatically. He found himself staring into space more often than he could afford during classes, and even in the hallways he bumped into people without really noticing, or just muttering a hollow 'sorry man'.

It was the Tuesday after Kurt had landed in the hospital, and Blaine was wandering trough the hallways towards his locker. He turned a corner and ran into no other than coach Sylvester.

Blinking, Blaine looked up at her threatening figure. "S-sorry." he brought out. "I wasn't- paying attention, I-"

"Spare me your pathetic excuses." Sue sneered. "Listen, Frodo, I don't care who you saved, or whom's locked you've placed your little gay rainbow in to cheer them up, you..." a threatening finger poked Blaine in the chest. "You stay out of my way unless you have something to share that has to do with the cheerleader's regionals, or that annoying William Shuester finally dying, because then I need to buy myself flowers."

Blaine stared at her before frowning. "My 'little gay rainbow'?" he repeated. "I'm sorry, coach, but I think I'm actually offended by that."

A few people paused on their way to their classrooms to watch the discussion with interest.

Sue pulled up her lip. "Are you now?" she said with a leer, taking a step towards Blaine, who immediately backed up against the lockers. He glared at her. "Yes, I am." he answered, trying not to let his voice falter. "I think that you're judging people on their sexuality."

A small group of students had now formed around him and Sue Sylvester, practically trapping them.

Sue smirked, although her eyes stayed ice-cold. "You have no proof." she said. "Unless you find this offending, too. What do you think, that you're special because you like ballet more than basketball? Well let me tell you something, Frodo..."Sue took another step towards Blaine and poked him in the chest again. "You're not as special as you think. Sure, you may have saved your porcelain boyfriend by getting some guy-to-guy action out of it, and you may be in that Glee club with him, but that doesn't earn you anything! You're just another little brat who just happens to like the colour 'rainbow' instead of bl-"

"Sue!"

Blaine, who had been staring at Sue's face, which was only inches away from his, quickly looked around, recognizing Mr. Shue's voice.

"Leave him alone, Sue." Shuester was now in between Blaine and Sylvester, his back turned to Blaine and looking angrily at Sue. "Leave him alone." he repeated. "He's been trough enough lately."

Blaine looked down, not wanting to take the risk to meet coach Sylvester's eyes now. He heard how Shuester started sending the students on their way again and closed his eyes, taking a deep, relieved breath. He hadn't thought to get out of that situation anytime soon, but thank God for Shuester, he had. He could hear Sue stomping away, roaring insults at the kids that happened to be in her way, throwing them aside against lockers.

"Blaine?" Suddenly, Shuester's hand was on his shoulder, squeezing slightly. "Are you alright?"

Blaine looked up, nodding dazedly. "Yeah." he muttered. "Sure. Thanks, Mr. Shue." He wanted to walk away, but Shuester's hand was still on his shoulder. He cast a glance at it before looking back at his teacher's face again.

Shuester looked grim and worried and angry. "What did she say to you?" he asked, causing Blaine to shrug. "Nothing special." he muttered. He took a deep breath, snapping at himself in thought. What the hell, Anderson, courage, remember? Be dapper!

As Shuester narrowed his eyes, Blaine said: "I ran into her, apologized to her and she started ranting..." Blaine suddenly frowned. "I don't really look like Frodo, do I?"

"She...?"

"She called me Frodo." Blaine shrugged. "Told me that no matter whom's life I saved, or... or whom's locker I'd placed a rainbow in or something... She said that unless I had something interesting to say to her, I had to stay out of her way."

Shuester rolled his eyes, looking exasperated. "Typical." he muttered.

"I said I found her offensive." Blaine continued his story. "She backed me up against the lockers and told me that... that no matter if I'd saved my 'porcelain boyfriend' by getting some-" Blaine paused for a moment. He needed to get his sudden flash of rage under control. Shuester waited for a moment, and Blaine could see the anger in his eyes, too. After a deep breath, he continued: "According to her, I saved Kurt by getting some guy-to-guy action out of it. And just because I'm in Glee club doesn't earn me anything... and that I'm just a little-"

"Yes, I caught it from there on." Shuester said trough clenched jaws. "Blaine, I've heard enough. I'm going to see principal Figgins right now. Sue's going to get it this time!"

Blaine sat next to Finn at Kurt's bedside that afternoon. Rachel and Mercedes sat on opposite to them.

"So he still hasn't shown any sign of waking up?" Mercedes asked. When Blaine and Finn shook their heads, she sighed and said: "Like father, like son, I guess."

"You mean you hope." Finn retorted. "Because that would mean Kurt's gonna wake up soon."

Blaine didn't say anything, but simply sat there, chin resting on his hand as he stared at his boyfriend.

"I'm so glad they're finally going to have a gay-awareness week." Rachel said, wiping a strand of hair out of her face. Finn and Mercedes nodded, while Blaine still didn't really react. Not that he didn't agree with Rachel, it was just... Apparently something like this had to happen to open the principal's eyes. Blaine frowned and grasped Kurt's limp hand in his, stroking the pale skin with his thumb. God, how he wished Kurt would just return the gesture right now...

"Blaine?"

Blaine looked up, meeting Mercedes' eyes. "What? Sorry, I was... distracted..." he made a vague gesture with his hand. "What were you saying?"

Mercedes smiled softly. "I was asking if you were seriously requested to speak next Monday. You know, at the start of that week." she said. Blaine shrugged. "Only if Kurt's not... in the condition to do so yet." he answered blankly, before sighing and shaking his head. "I really don't want to do this." he muttered.

"What, the talk?" Finn asked. "Dude, it's totally awesome if you do it! You get a chance to get trough those shitheads, man!" He bound in, seeing Rachel's shocked glare. "I mean- idiots." he muttered.

Blaine grinned slightly. "I know." he said. "And that's cool and all, but... It's just that I'd rather do it together with Kurt. I think that would make a lot more impression."

"He's right." Mercedes said. "Specially with the way Kurt looks now..." her voice trailed off and she got that look on her face. Rachel saw it and looked suspicious. "What is it now, Mercedes?" she asked, rolling her eyes dramatically. Blaine, on the opposite, looked quite interested. Mercedes looked at him. "What if we take some pictures of Kurt, show them during your talk? Tell them what really happened?"

Blaine looked at Kurt. "I don't know, Mercedes..." he slowly said. "He'll never forgive you for that..."

"It's for a good cause." Rachel countered. "I'm sure he'll be fine with it."

Finn and Blaine exchanged a knowing look - there was no way in hell Kurt would be fine with something as a picture being taken without him having his hair done. Blaine shook his head. "No." he said. "If he wakes up before that speech I'll ask him, but I just... let's just hope the story alone is enough to make them think about it."

Blaine took a deep breath to try and soothe his nerves. Principal Figgins was almost done with his introduction and after that it would be his turn to speak and tell the school about what had happened to Kurt.

Even from his position next to the stage he could see that people were already bored out of their minds. He swallowed, gnawing his lip and checking his cellphone one last time before he'd have to get up and talk. Burt had promised to call whenever something about Kurt's state changed, so Blaine had made it a habit to check his phone every half an hour.

"So now, without any further ado: your fellow student, Blaine Anderson." Figgins said in his usual monotone way.

Blaine quickly shoved his cellphone back into his pocket before stepping up on the stage. He could see Sue Sylvester standing by the exit with a sour look on her face and he grinned slightly as he walked to the microphone on the middle of the podium. To his content, it was wireless, so he could walk wherever he wanted and it would still work.

Right. So...

"Hi." he said, trying to ignore the fact that he could hear his voice three times as loud as normally. "I'll introduce myself properly first, I guess... My name is Blaine Anderson, I'm new here, this is my first year at McKinley High. I'm seventeen years old and gay." There, the first threshold was stepped over. "You know, for the ones who didn't know yet." he said with a faint grin.

A couple of people snorted and chuckled, and Blaine smiled when he saw that it were mostly friends from Glee club.

"So, um... Principal Figgins has asked me to hold a short speech that fits in with the upcoming week. I'm sure you've all heard it's gonna be the gay-awareness week, so yeah... No newsflash there." Blaine looked at his audience and briefly bit his lower lip. God, they were quiet... Courage. "I'm sure all of you know Kurt Hummel." he said, gripping the microphone tightly. He sat down on the edge of the stage and then slid off it, so he could stand against it instead of on it. He liked it better this way. "About nine months ago, he came to Dalton, the school where I previously boarded as a student. He had found it almost impossible to stay at this school because of being bullied for his sexual preference. He joined the Glee club there, to my great pleasure, I might add."

There was a loud giggle from somewhere in the audience, and Blaine was able to make out a young girl somewhere in the middle of the students. She flushed to the roots of her brown hair when Blaine made eye contact with her, and pressed her hand against her mouth. Blaine flashed a grin to let her know it was alright.

"Kurt and I got together after a couple of months." Blaine said. "Because it took me - as thick-headed as I usually am - that long to realize how special he is. About a month later, Kurt transferred back to McKinley, as the Bullywhippers were invented. I'm sure you all know who they are and what they do." Blaine looked around and saw most of the students nod indifferently.

"During the summer I realized that, no matter how great a zero-bully tolerance is, I really wanted to get away from Dalton. McKinley is closer to my home as well, so it would spare the trouble of having to board." he continued. "Anyway, I transferred to this school directly after summer break and I must say, I really liked it here... And I really thought that the whole idea of having people around such as the Bullywhippers had helped to... beat some sense into people's heads."

Blaine took a deep breath. Here began the hardest part.

"When you're under the impression that you're safe, you start to relax. That's what you guys to, right? At school. You're relaxed, you know you're safe. You know you're not going to be bullied anymore, because the two people who form the Bullywhippers do their jobs profoundly." He smiled in the direction he knew Santana was.

Blaine couldn't help but notice that it was dead silent now. In the beginning, people had been muttering to each other, whispering and snorting sceptically, but that was over. People were listening.

He had the chance to get to them now.

"So..." Blaine started to walk around in front of the podium, pretending he was loosening up. "So you feel safe, you're relaxed... you're being yourself because you know you can be. After all, no-one bullies anymore." He suddenly stopped dead in his tracks when he felt his cellphone vibrated in his pocket. His free hand automatically reached for it, but when he looked at all the people listening to him, he knew that he shouldn't pick it up. The chance that it was Burt was zero anyway.

He had to make a change here.

"So imagine." he started again, trying to keep his voice steady. "Imagine you're just going to the toilets. You've been minding your own business, nothing else." Blaine walked towards the front row, upon a puny guy who was fifteen, tops. "What's your name?" he asked, holding the microphone towards the boy.

"Uh... Jared." the boy answered, taken by surprise. He got red spots in his neck, though.

"Right, Jared. So imagine you're just going to the toilet. You've done nothing weird all day. What do you expect when you open the door?" Blaine asked.

Jared stared at him stupidly, then at the microphone. "N-nothing, just... toilets?" he said.

Blaine nodded. "Nothing, okay. What about you?" he asked the guy sitting next to Jared. He, too, shook his head. "Nothing."

Blaine nodded, taking a few steps back. "They probably say nothing because they feel safe enough at this school." he said. "But what if you expect nothing and suddenly you get grabbed from behind, pushed into a stall, punched in your face and pushed face-first into a toilet? What if you're held underwater while the toilet gets flushed over and over again and all you can do is pray that someone might notice that you shouldn't be gone for such a long time?" He looked around, his hands trembling now. "That's not something you'd expect to happen, is it?"

His voice was hard, and so were his eyes.

"Well it happened to Kurt." He spat out. "He got grabbed from behind and punched, and pushed into a stall on his knees. He nearly got drowned."

His cellphone buzzed again, but this time he could ignore it completely.

"I know that there's been a rumour right after he was brought to the hospital. That he and I were just getting it on in the toilets, on the floor. For the ones who interpretate mouth-to-mouth resuscitation as making out, I advice you take home one of those pamphlets from Mrs. Pillsbury's office and read them before making stupid assumptions like that." Blaine took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down enough not to go into the attack. It wouldn't be fair.

"Kurt's heart stopped twice because of all the water that entered his body. At the moment he's in a coma and the doctors have no idea when and if he'll wake up again."

Was his face getting wet now? Blaine had no idea. He brought up his hand to wipe his fingers over his cheeks, and saw that it were indeed tears. He cleared his throat and brought down the microphone as he sniffed, the image of his boyfriend in the toilet stall suddenly clear in his mind again.

"All this happened because someone figured that being gay equals being sick." Blaine said. "And he's not the only victim. Ohio has hate crime laws that don't include crimes based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Gay marriage is not allowed and no form of partnership recognition are banned as well. In 2009, the FBI came out with a report they made over fourteen years of studying hate crimes against homosexuals. They said the chance of a gay person being attacked is at least twice as big as the chance of a 'normal' person being attacked. And I know that out of experience. Put up your hand if you find this normal."

Blaine looked around, radiating self-confidence, even though the tears had only started to fall harder while he was summing up the previous facts.

No-one moved a muscle.

Blaine relaxed slightly. "I'm glad." he said. "I hope you're going to do a lot of thinking about the subject this week, because from the looks of it that was quite necessary." He tried to smile. "Thank you."

He walked back to the stage to place his microphone in the holder when he heard the first insecure clap of someone's hands. Slowly there were more people clapping and by the time Blaine turned, the whole group was making a standing ovation to him.

The best part was, as Blaine would later recall, that no-one smiled.

Five minutes later, Blaine stood in a toilet, trying to get his breathing under control after a fit of crying. He looked in the mirror to check if he wasn't too pale, or if his eyes weren't too red-rimmed. He knew the whole school had already seen him cry, but that didn't mean he wanted to be seen like that again.

For the third time that hour, his cellphone rang. Blaine sighed and picked it up, flipping it open.

He froze when he saw the name on his screen.

'Burt'

He immediately hit the 'accept' button and pressed the phone against his ear. "Yes?" he asked breathlessly, feeling his hands start tremble all over again.

"Blaine, it's Burt."

"I- I know..." Blaine stammered. "I saw- I- is Kurt...?"

"Awake and well." Even trough the phone, Blaine could hear his boyfriend's father grinning like a madman. He sounded like he had a stuffed nose, too. The moment his breath hitched in his throat, though, was when Blaine heard a faint mutter from in the background and a: "Sure. Blaine, Kurt wants to talk to you." from Burt.

"O-okay..." Blaine brought out.

There was some fumbling with the phone and then there was the most beautiful sound Blaine had ever heard in his whole life. "Blaine...?"

"Kurt..." Blaine croaked, before bursting out into sobs. "Kurt... Oh God, you're really... It's really you..." He wandered to an empty stall and crashed down on the toilet, not even bothering to lock the door. "I'm... I missed you so much..." he brought out in between sobs.

"I missed you too." Kurt said in a hoarse voice. "I want to see you..."

"God, I want to see you too." Blaine said, smiling broadly trough his tears. "How are you feeling?"

"Like someone broke my sternum." Kurt muttered, and Blaine just had to laugh at the sulking tone his boyfriend used. "Yeah, that's probably Mr. Shuester's work." he said. "You don't remember that?"

"I don't remember anything but my head being pushed into a toilet." Kurt said. "Disgusting."

Blaine grinned faintly, ran a hand over his face and stood, straightening his shirt. "I'm coming your way right now." he said determinedly. "I need to see you."

"I'll probably be asleep..." Kurt said, sounding hesitating.

"I don't care. I'll wait till you wake up again." Blaine said warmly, smiling when he heard Kurt yawn and breathe out with a content hum again. "Morphine really is awesome stuff, did you know?"

And Blaine laughed.


	3. Chapter 3

Like Kurt had predicted, he was asleep when Blaine entered the hospital room.

Burt sat next to his son's bed, holding his hand and stroking the back of it with his calloused thumb. He looked up when Blaine shut the door behind him, grinning broadly. "He tried hard to stay up, but he fell asleep ten minutes ago." he said softly, not wanting to wake Kurt.

Blaine laughed softly, feeling a lump form in his throat. "He already told me he'd probably be asleep." he answered, clearing his throat as silently as possible.

"Why didn't you pick up your phone earlier?" Burt wanted to know, causing Blaine to flush slightly. "I had that openings speech." he admitted. "For the gay-awareness week at school."

Burt nodded, looking interested. "How'd it go? What did you tell them? Did you tell them what happened to Kurt?"

Blaine nodded. "Yes sir. I asked them whether they felt safe at school, and they did. Then I asked them what they would expect if they went to the toilets." He laughed slightly. "One boy said he just expected toilets... So I told them that that was the same what Kurt expected when he entered the toilet. I told them what happened instead, and I informed them on all the flaws in the hate-crime-, and partnership law of Ohio... stuff like that."

Burt nodded in agreement. "This state has crappy laws, I agree on that." he muttered, looking slightly angry. He looked at his son again and his eyes softened. "If there's anything I can do to help them change, I'd do it before you could even say the word 'gay'."

Blaine grinned. "I know." he said. "I find it awesome. Sometimes I wish my dad would be more like you, sir." He flushed slightly when he admitted it, but he figured that Burt should know how good a father he actually was to Kurt.

Burt smiled. "Thank you, Blaine." he said solemnly. "Well..." he stood and stretched, carefully letting go of Kurt's hand. "I better walk around for a little, get something to eat."

Blaine nodded, knowing that Burt was giving him and Kurt some time alone on purpose, and he was really grateful for that. "Thank you, sir." he said.

"I think this must be the seventeenth time I tell you to call me Burt." Burt said, rolling his eyes. "Call me if you need anything." With that, he was gone.

Blaine took place in the chair next to Kurt's bed and took his boyfriend's hand as well, bringing it up to his mouth and kissing it softly before simply keeping it there, pressed against his lips. He kept his eyes on Kurt's face all the time.

The boy was still pale, but not as extreme anymore, and his lips had their normal color back again.

Oh, how Blaine missed kissing those lips...

He leaned forward, hovering over Kurt now, and softly kissed him. Blaine smiled - Kurt's lips were warm again. With a content feeling, like a smouldering campfire in the pit of his stomach, he leaned back again, sitting on the edge of the bed. He gazed at Kurt, drinking in his features. Every now and then, he'd lean in for a kiss.

At one point, he could feel Kurt's breathing pattern change slightly, causing him to smile. He pulled away to watch his boyfriend wake up.

Kurt let out a small moan, bringing up his free hand to rub his eyes with. Blaine cocked his head a little, smiling broadly. His boyfriend looked like a little kitten, he concluded.

When Kurt finally opened his eyes and blearily looked into Blaine's brown ones, a smile slowly started to spread across his face. "Hi." he croaked, voice still rough with sleep.

"Hey." Blaine replied softly, grinning broadly now. "How are you feeling now?"

"Better, now that you're here." Kurt answered, squeezing his boyfriend's hand. "How are you? Dad told me about that speech you had to give..."

"Figgins thought it was time for a gay-awareness week." Blaine said, stroking his thumb over Kurt's knuckles. "He asked me to do an opening speech. I told them about you..." He looked down at their joined hands and suddenly found it hard to speak. "I really have a feeling that it'll help." he croaked, blinking quickly against the tears.

"Oh, Blaine..." Kurt said softly, freeing his hand to cup his boyfriend's cheek. "Are you okay, honey?"

Blaine nodded, pressing his face into the warmth of Kurt's hand. "I'm just- just really happy you're awake..." he whispered, kissing Kurt's palm briefly. "I missed you, Kurt. I was so scared... when the doctor told me you were in a coma... I was so afraid you'd never wake up again..."

"But I did." Kurt interrupted with a surprisingly firm voice. "I'm here, Blaine, and I'm never leaving you again. iEver/i." He smiled faintly and tilted Blaine's face up so they could make eye contact. "Got that?" he asked softly.

Blaine nodded, leaning forward for a kiss.

"Got it." he murmured, before taking Kurt into a careful hug. He closed his eyes and cherished the feeling of his boyfriend holding onto him again. Loving the knowledge that he wouldn't let go again.


End file.
